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Turkish Press Review, 04-09-17Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Turkish Directorate General of Press and Information <http://www.byegm.gov.tr><LINK href="http://www.byegm.gov.tr_yayinlarimiz_chr_pics_css/tpr.css" rel=STYLESHEET type=text/css> e-mail : newspot@byegm.gov.tr <caption> <_caption> Summary of the political and economic news in the Turkish press this morning17.09.2004FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNSCONTENTS
[01] GOVERNMENT SUSPENDS DEBATE ON PENAL CODE REFORMThe ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) yesterday blocked parliamentary debate on a sweeping penal code reform bill seen as crucial to Turkey’s European Union membership bid. The AKP withdrew two articles from the bill in mid-debate, delaying the entire package's approval. The reform bill is intended to bring the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) closer to those of EU member states. The unexpected move was interpreted by some observers as a government maneuver to introduce into the TCK a clause making adultery a criminal offense. Earlier this week the government had apparently dropped the controversial adultery measure after pressure from the EU. However yesterday, after the parliamentarians had approved all but two of the bill’s 346 articles, Justice Commission Chairman Koksal Toptan announced that the AKP had decided to withdraw these last two articles “in order to align them with two other, relevant bills currently under review” by the commission. “If all of these bills are approved together, then many concerns over the penal code will also vanish,” Toptan predicted. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) accused the AKP of “twisting the truth.” “The latest political developments show that the AKP is still debating the adultery clause,” said one CHP member. “The AKP should clarify its stance on this issue – the public needs to know.” In related news, the EU has already warned Ankara that the adultery clause, if adopted, would seriously jeopardize Turkey's chances of obtaining a date for the start of membership negotiations with the Union. /All Papers/[02] ERDOGAN: “THE NEW LIRA WILL BOOST CONFIDENCE IN OUR CURRENCY”Speaking at a press conference yesterday on the re-denominated Turkish due to be rolled out early next year, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the new lira would boost confidence in the nation’s currency, adding that he hoped the nation would be patient during this process. Erdogan stated that the government would begin to introduce the new lira to the public next month. Touching on recent price rises in rent and education costs, Erdogan said that the government could enact legislation to prevent such increases. Asked about the International Monetary Fund delegation which arrived in Turkey yesterday, the premier said that there were a number of issues to discuss with the group, including the primary surplus. Also present at the press conference were Deputy Prime Minister Abdullatif Sener, Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan, State Minister for the Economy Ali Babacan and Central Bank Governor Sureyya Serdengecti. /Milliyet/[03] GUL MEETS WITH SLOVAK DEPUTY PREMIERForeign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday met with visiting Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Pal Czsaky. Speaking to reporters, Gul said that Turkey and Slovakia had friendly relations, adding that the pair had discussed regional issues and topics related to the European Union. For his part, Czsaky said that he was pleased that Turkish-Slovak ties are growing stronger and that he was hopeful for Turkey’s EU membership process. Slovakia joined the EU in May. Meanwhile, regarding recent developments in the oil-rich northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, Gul warned of Kurds flocking to the city, saying that efforts to change Kirkuk’s demographic makeup could harm Iraq’s stability. “Ankara is closely following developments in Kirkuk, ” said Gul. “Everyone should proceed carefully on this.” He added that Turkey was continuing its fight against terrorism and would not make any concessions. Last month as many as 500 Kurds a day streamed into Kirkuk, and US officials have reportedly admitted that the surge is being timed to establish residency ahead of elections set for next January. /Turkiye/[04] GUL TRAVELS TO NEW YORK FOR UN MEETINGSForeign Minister Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is due to leave today for the United States to attend UN General Assembly meetings in New York. During the meetings, Gul is expected to meet with a number of top European and US officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is also set to attend a Turkish festival in Chicago over the weekend. /Turkish Daily News/[05] INTERIOR MINISTER AKSU: “THERE IS NO SYSTEMATIC TORTURE IN TURKEY”In the runup to a visit by an investigative team of European Union officials, Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu yesterday denied allegations of widespread torture in Turkey. Stressing that there was no “systematic torture,” Aksu told a press conference that the government had a “zero tolerance” policy for torture. “We’re aiming for the highest level possible in human rights,” Aksu continued. “Torture and mistreatment are crimes against humanity which we will not allow in Turkey.” /Turkiye/[06] IMF DELEGATION VISITS TIM TO DISCUSS RECENT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTSA visiting International Monetary Fund delegation yesterday stopped by the Turkish Exporters’ Union (TIM) to discuss recent economic developments. During the meeting, TIM officials made a presentation called “Towards the New Program” to the delegation headed by IMF Turkey Desk Chief Riza Moghadam. Later, the group met with Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) officials to discuss a number of issues, including the high current accounts deficit, primary surplus, and structural reforms. /Aksam/[07] SWEDISH PARLIAMENT THROWS SUPPORT BEHIND TURKEY’S EU BIDReading the government’s program at the Swedish Parliament yesterday, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said that the national assembly supported Turkey beginning its accession talks with the European Union. “The EU is continuing to expand, and Romania and Bulgaria are being supported to join the EU in 2007,” said Persson. He added that if Turkey begins its accession talks with the Union, this would better the country’s human rights situation. /Cumhuriyet/[08] CHP CRITICIZES GOVT WITHDRAWING TWO ARTICLES OF PENAL CODE BILLSpeaking at a press conference yesterday, Kemal Anadol, a deputy from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), criticized the government withdrawing two articles of the news Turkish Penal Code (TCK) bill dealing with the law’s application. “We condemn the government’s withdrawing these articles, which are very important for the nation,” stated Anadol. "These developments show that the AKP is still debating the adultery clause," he added, referring to a measure recently withdrawn after drawing criticism. /Aksam/[09] EU DELEGATION VISITS TURKEY TO PROBE TORTURE ALLEGATIONSA European Union delegation led by the EU Commission Turkey Desk Director Matthias Ruete yesterday arrived in Ankara to investigate recent allegations of systematic torture. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said that he was shocked by the delegation’s visit, calling such allegations completely unfounded. Ruete and his delegations met with Human Rights Association (IHD) Chairman Husnu Ondul and Human Rights Foundation (IHV) head Yavuz Onen to discuss the issue. The IHD recently charged that torture continues to be systematically practiced in Turkey. In related news, during his visit to Turkey last week, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Gunter Verheugen called the IHD's torture charges troubling and called on to the government to severely sanction the practice, warning the AKP of possible serious consequences if the allegations prove correct. /Sabah/[10] SCHROEDER DEFENDS TURKEY’S EU BID AGAINST GERMAN CONSERVATIVESAngela Merkel, leader of German opposition party the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) wrote a letter this week to heads of rightist governments across Europe in an attempt to marshal support for the CDU’s drive against Turkey’s European Union bid. In her letter, Merkel reiterated her call for a “special partnership,” falling short of full membership, between Turkey and the EU. Among the letter's recipients were Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende and Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis. “Turkey is following the path of a remarkable program of reforms, something which we must support,” said the letter. “Ankara should not be turned away. On the contrary, there are many particular characteristics that accentuate a partnership.” Merkel’s political nemesis, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, however, strongly supports Turkey's EU membership bid. Addressing the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce in Budapest yesterday, Schroeder refused to accept Merkel’s proposal, underlining that the EU must keep its promise if the EU Commission determines that Turkey has been successful in fulfilling the Copenhagen criteria. /Star/[11] FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS … FROM THE COLUMNS[12] SPEAK, OSMAN OCALAN BY ERDAL SAFAK (SABAH)Columnist Erdal Safak comments the terrorist group PKK and Osman Ocalan, the brother of its former leader Abdullah Ocalan. A summary of his column is as follows:“Abdullah Ocalan’s brother Osman Ocalan has at last entered the spotlight. Interviews with him were recently published in two newspapers. In the interviews conducted in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq, Ocalan and two former top PKK militants later declared as traitors to the group, Hidir Yalcin and Nizamettin Tas, expressed regret over their years and activities in the PKK. Ocalan said that the newly established Patriotic Democratic Party would take a liberal democratic line and stated clearly that they were going under the protection of Kurdish leaders in northern Iraq and the US. Nor are they hiding that their aim is acceptance by Turkey as a ‘political identity.’ On some Kurdish websites, Osman Ocalan apologizes to the victims of executions within the terrorist group and their families. There were reports about the executions of people wanting to break ties with the group. This discussion heated up with repeated disclosures. Especially the statements of two militants who were able to evade the executions caused deep shocks in Turkey’s southeast. The first militant told of the executions of militants accused of betrayal due to their ‘emotional relations’ He said that seven people had been killed. The second witness, Harun Tak, was able to escape a massacre in an ‘education camp’ near the southeastern city of Mus and published an account called, ‘There are Always Some Who Can Escape a Massacre.’ He compared the camp with the Nazi concentration camps for Jews in World War II and said that only three out of the 50 members were able to escape it. The reason behind Osman Ocalan’s apologies is Tak’s story. ‘Harun Tak made me remember what we have lived through. I’m sorry, but his entire story is true,’ said Ocalan, adding that the three escapees owe their lives to the Turkish military. Speak Ocalan, so that the youth in the southeast don’t throw away their lives. Maybe this way you can help to bring terrorism to an end.” [13] A KIRKUK CONFESSION BY FERAI TINC (HURRIYET)Columnist Ferai Tinc comments on the situation in Kirkuk and Turkish-US relations. A summary of her column is as follows:“American military commanders have started to tell how critical the situation is in Kirkuk. There will be a census next month in Kirkuk due to the presidential elections set for January. Kurdish administrations in northern Iraq are giving money to Kurds and moving them to Kirkuk so it will be considered a ‘Kurdish city.’ US commanders can’t hide their confusion over this Kurdish migration. Do you know why it took so long for them to see the truth? When the Turkmen issue came up years before the war in Iraq, the US thought that it was an artificial issue raised by Turkey in order to gain advantage in Iraq. A proper Turkmen policy was never formulated. However, now even 1st US Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. John Batiste talks about a risk of civil war. If the US commanders say one day that they had been ‘misled’ by Kurds in the Tal Afar incident, I wouldn’t be surprised. Trying to tip Kirkuk’s ethnic balance will trigger a more problematic process. A civil war in this region wouldn’t look like one in the Balkans because everybody knows that cruelty spread beyond Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, Turkmen have been the political opposition in the region for 90 years, with armed experience. The Kurds also have great experience with armed combat. Arabs are also very important in the most important army in the region. Turkey’s criticisms have caused distress in Washington. It’s calculating how far Ankara will go. Some people in the US try to break Turkey’s stance. However, the important thing is not how far Ankara can go, but calculating what will happen if the Iraqi swamp isn’t drained. Establishing stability in Iraq is very important for Turkey. It’s as important as protecting the rights of Turkmen, Arabs and Assyrians. However, the US lost its sensitivity to these balances. A Kirkuk confession would be the clearest evidence of this situation.” ARCHIVE <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript" src="http:/_www.byegm.gov.tr_statistic/countcode.js"> </script> Turkish Press Review Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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